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After being sidelined from a debate organized by business leaders earlier this week, embattled Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell came out swinging Thursday in defence of her record as the city’s top magistrate.

“I’ve worked hard to make Brampton a place people are proud to call home,” said Fennell, who is facing serious fallout over an expense scandal that has gripped city hall. With a new Forum Research poll done for the Toronto Star over the weekend, showing the mayor’s support plummeting to 17 per cent, Fennell took her best shot at winning over the small crowd that gathered for the event.

“I am proud of my record,” said Fennell.

That same poll showed former provincial cabinet minister, Linda Jeffrey, enjoying a commanding lead at 42 per cent support.

Fennell and Jeffrey joined Regional Councillor John Sanderson and local businessman Devinder Sangha in the debate organized by Lab-B. The event brought together a collective of creative types and entrepreneurs wanting to gauge candidates’ position on a range of topics from transit to business development to post-secondary education.

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As the 60 or so people crammed into the tight meeting space on the second floor of the Old Shoe Factory in the city’s downtown, Fennell roamed the room shaking hands and posed for a photograph with a supporter.

When the debate finally started — the meeting started late because Jeffrey was caught in traffic — Fennell dove right into a list of accomplishments including growing rapid transit and keeping the city debt-free.

As the debate progressed, Fennell, with the help of moderator Jam Gamble, did a solid job avoiding questions over expenses, hiring practices and accountability to the taxpayers.

Gamble put her foot down early and stressed candidates steer clear of talking about a forensic audit that found Fennell and her staff broke city expense rules 266 times over seven years, totalling $172,600. The mayor disputes the findings of that audit, which was subsequently marked taboo as a topic of debate by organizers. That audit is now in the hands of the OPP.

“The audit is not our focus. Our focus is on our young professionals and that is what our focus will be on,” Gamble said.

That didn’t stop candidates from delivering shots toward the mayor for her part in a scandal that has propelled the city into the national spotlight.

“God save our beautiful city from greedy politicians,” said Sangha, who also took aim at Sanderson for his breach of municipal spending protocols. Sanderson has been asked to pay back $1,600.

Fennell managed to take the verbal hits in stride. She touted things she plans to tackle if reelected, including resurrecting her bid for a hotel and conference centre in the downtown. Fennell has long been at odds with councillors over a botched plan to locate a hotel and conference centre to the city’s core.

Also on her list of things to do if reelected is to land a university in Brampton.

On that front, Jeffrey, who also plans to bring a university to Brampton if she becomes mayor on Oct. 27, scolded the city’s handling of Ontario’s proposal call for three new universities. She said Brampton failed to meet basic requirements after Fennell pushed to instead partner with Sheridan College.

With the latest election polls pointing heavily in her favour, Jeffrey also came under heavy fire as rivals took turns taking shots at her record as a Liberal minister.

“I just want to dispel this notion that I didn’t do anything for the last 10 years,” said Jeffrey, who found herself on the defensive for most of the night for her time at Queen’s Park.

“I will tell you one thing, I am the only candidate at this table that has a good relationship with Queen’s Park,” Jeffrey said.

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